Carrie isn’t actually a member of the family that owns Joden, but she’s close: she’s known Joe’s family for 30 years and she started working at the store when she was only 19.

After years of considering a blog for Joden, Carrie finally became Joden Girl in 2016, after fate suddenly handed her a lot of free time:

Unfortunately (or fortunately – depending on how you look at it), in January of 2016, I had a sledding accident and shattered my left ankle. It was during that time that I began to write. Countless hours, many do-overs, and lots of crinkled papers – Joden Girl was born.”

As Joden Girl, Carrie highlights special pieces in the store’s inventory, delves into the history of the treasures they have in stock, and more. The blog’s newest feature is a series called “Joe’s Special Box,” and it offers a peek into the owner’s personal stash, a collection of extraordinary finds that he’d been saving to give to his daughter.

The pieces from Joe’s Special box are diverse: they’re connected only by the fact that Joe thought each one was remarkable in some way. When someone who knows as much about jewelry as Joe thinks something is special, it’s worth seeing. Trust me: I’ve looked through Joe’s boxes, and they’re a treasure trove.

I always love to ask fellow jewelry bloggers about their own personal jewelry loves! Here’s what Carrie had to say:

My favorite period is Art Nouveau, although I don’t own a lot of Nouveau pieces. I adore all the bisque gold finishes with multicolored enamel.

As far as my own collection goes, it would definitely be my wedding rings…purchased at Joden, of course. My engagement ring is a platinum ring from the 1920’s, loop detail on each shoulder set with single cut diamonds, accented with milgrain. My wedding band was custom made by one of our bench jewelers, Steve Becker. I told him I wanted daisies (my favorite flower) and he designed it himself!”

Carrie is a delight and her perspective on the unending assortment of treasures of Joden is fascinating. Following with Carrie’s adventures firsthand at Joden Girl, or learn more about Joden here:

I have a treat for you today, my darlings. Remember a couple of weeks ago when I told you all about Joden and then left you hanging, promising more photos at a to-be-determined time?

That time is now.

Here I am with the lovely Shelly of Joden, frolicking around Gove City wearing a truly staggering amount of Art Deco diamonds and pearls.

That’s a great advantage of visiting jewelry stores in tiny towns: it’s reasonably safe if you decide to put on all their inventory and go run around outside. Definitely bring a friend, though. It’s (probably) safer and definitely more fun that way.

As we discussed last time, Joden is a world-class jewelry store tucked away in an unassuming little town in rural Pennsylvania. I spent a whole day there, having my mind blown by incredible treasures from the obscure and antique to the innovative and brand new.

The charismatic owner, Joe Murawski, told me before I visited that Joden has the best of everything from $5 to $500,000 and oh, my darlings, they truly do. (They also love to buy jewelry, so if you have treasures to sell, give them a call!)

We saw quite a good sampling before, but there’s still more where that came from. Hold on to your hats.

Did you enjoy that giant stack of Art Deco diamonds bracelets up above?? I definitely had fun wearing them. Or draping them on myself, at least. It takes a while to fasten that many bracelets.

This brooch is a slightly earlier piece, a daydream-worthy example of the Art Nouveau style. It’s gold with plique-a-jour enamel: that’s the colorful parts that look like stained glass.

This is a signed piece by notable French jeweler and sculptor Joë Descomps. It shows a delicately detailed couple relaxing in front of the ocean and bears a French assay mark that dates to the year 1900.

I’ve visited jewelry stores in New York, San Francisco, Paris, and everywhere in between – famous, glamorous stores all over this country and in other countries, too. But the latest store to completely blow me away is somewhere you might not necessarily expect to find world-class jewels: Joden, tucked away in rural Pennsylvania.

Joden has been the crown jewel of downtown Grove City, PA, since owner Joe Murawski established it there in 1970.

Joden’s online FAQ says “our inventory is vast” and even that feels like an understatement. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to another store with such a volume of inventory spanning different eras and styles. I saw cutting edge contemporary diamond rings, Faberge lorgnettes, intricate webs of Georgian era pearls, lifelike Victorian micromosaics, museum quality Renaissance revival masterpieces, and everything in between. The pure quantity of inventory – and the quality of that quantity – is remarkable.

I could tell you all day that I saw a lot of good jewelry at Joden and it wouldn’t come close to communicating the depth of what I mean…so I’m going to show it to you. Hold on to your hats, darlings.

The first thing you’ll notice when you walk into Joden is that their store feels like a cross between a shop and a museum. The long room is lined with brightly lit display cases of jewelry, as one would expect, but some of the finest pieces are mounted on the walls in individual vitrines. Each of these showpieces is displayed solo, in front of an enlarged photograph of itself.

Obviously, I went straight for these superstar pieces. Look at this brooch!! Art Deco era, with a killer 17+ carat galaxy of a black opal. No wonder it gets its own case.

As we take this visual tour, please do remember that every piece I’m showing you is currently for sale by Joden. If you fall in love, reach out to Joe and he’ll sell you whatever tickles your fancy. There’s contact info on Joden’s website, or you can call Joe at (724) 458-1111. Joe is friendly and he loves the phone – tell him I say hello!

Objectively speaking, a necklace made of 100+ year old dead bugs should be gross…but I fell head over heels for this antique French scarab necklace. I love the texture of the beetle shells, their unique iridescence. This piece didn’t come home with me that day, but I can’t get it out of my mind.

From delicate and whimsical to hooooooooly moly! How about these diamonds?

Both rings are objectively simple, but the scale and cut of both stones makes them MAJOR showstoppers. The top is a long, lovely 6.58 carat emerald cut diamond flanked by trap and baguette cut side stones. The lower is a voluptuous and 5.95 carat East-West set marquise cut diamond.

One sleek and geometric, the other curvaceous and seductive – both utterly glamorous. I couldn’t decide which one I loved the most, but luckily they both fit me.

It’s been a while since we had a store profile, hasn’t it, my dears? Today we’re going to take a look at Joden World Resources. Joden is a well-respected name already; the PA-based store has recently opened for e-business so now you can admire their pretties from the comfort of your own home!

I have yet to visit Joden in person, but Joden online is well worth a visit. They actually reached out and invited me to take a look, and once I saw what they had to offer (and how well their site was offering it) I knew I had to show you, too. I especially enjoyed how the site allows you to sort by price, era or type of jewelry. They also provide clear photos of the jewelry from several angles, and have some really lovely pieces – including a particularly large Giuliano collection.

Enough talk. Let’s take a look at some of what Joden has to offer.

This pendant is Victorian, with emeralds, turquoise, and rubies set in gold. It’s just so fabulously vibrant and unique.